Insurance

Pet Health Insurance is something we urge all pet owners to consider. Modern veterinary medicine has moved on dramatically and along with those improvements in procedures and techniques there is necessarily a higher investment in diagnostic aids, materials and procedures.

It is (of course) the owners decision whether or not they are going to take advantage of the ability to arrange complex procedures but with insurance the financial pressures of such decisions will be eased.

Hip replacements, MRI scanning and spinal surgery or tumour removals and chemotherapy or radiotherapy are expensive examples. Chronic disease can accumulate significant costs over time too.

There are strict rules governing those who sell insurance or advise specific insurance policies overseen by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). We cannot tell you which insurance companies to use.

The policy is a contract between you and the insurance company. It remains your responsibility to pay any veterinary bills and resolve any disputes with your insurers. Parkside Veterinary Centre will assist with the completion of claim forms and the provision of any reports.

Client confidentiality issues and Insurers' interpretations of the Data Protection Act mean that Insurers will often not speak to us directly or will only do so with written authority from their insured client.

Arbitration in disputes is the responsibility of the ombudsman. The ombudsman service does not prevent your subsequent court action.

important NOTES

*When deciding on the level of cover note whether this will increase with inflation and the life of your pet - or whether insurance cover can be increased later without prejudice. For a pet that may live 10 or 15 yrs the sum insured now will have less buying power then.

*Most insurers now offer cover for advertising for lost pets, 'alternative healthcare', ancillary procedures such as behavioural problems or physiotherapy or accidental death and so forth. You may or may not wish to have such extensions of cover.

*Insurance generally does not include cover for problems related to pregnancy or pre-existing disease and may vary in how insurers looks at congenital diseases. Congenital disease refers to problems from birth and may include genetic disease. This is a potential problem area since some of these disorders may not be obvious until adulthood. You may wish to check fine print or ask for clarification on issues such as Hip or Elbow Dysplasia, Storage diseases, Polycystic Kidney Disease and the like.

*With some policies cover may cease beyond a certain age. At that time it will probably be impossible to switch to a different insurer - many will not take on pets over 8 or 10 yrs of age. You may also find that the excess on the policy increases.

*Insurance premiums commonly increase after claims are made. It may be possible to renegotiate this after a claim free period.

*Most policies require a period before claims can be made. Taking out insurance when you pet is ill and then waiting beyond this period to make a claim is fraudulent. Please do not ask us to change dates or delete records. As the saying goes - 'refusal may offend'.

*Check if the policy covers the full term of a disorder or is limited to the period of insurance and what happens if the same problem return. Will it be excluded? Some insurers limit their liability to a fixed total and others may have a yearly total (i.e. it resets to the full level every renewal). There are a few 'unlimited' policies too. One of our patients went through a lot of investigations and peritoneal dialysis for many months and cost the insurers over £11,000.

*It is sometimes possible for owners to arrange or check 'pre-approval' and reassure themselves that their pet will be covered.

*It is often a requirement that the pet is kept up-to-date on vaccinations or regular health checks. Your cover may become invalid if these conditions are not met.

*Cosmetic work is not usually covered. This should not exclude therapeutic dental attention. Where tartar accumulation leads to gum disease this is usually included in insurance cover. Owners may wish to ask their insurers for clarification.

*So called 'prescription diets' are usually not covered by insurance. Rarely an allowance towards their costs is available but insurers take the view that you have to feed the pet anyway.

Links to animal insurance below is not comprehensive and is not an endorsement by Parkside for these companies or any preference by Parkside for insurance by these providers.

Insurance

important NOTES

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